1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a container having a drinking tube incorporated therein and, more particularly, to a beverage container having a pop-up drinking/dispensing tube.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, beverage containers are manufactured, fitted and sealed in a high-speed automated process. This process includes manufacturing a separate body for containing the fluid or beverage and a separate lid for sealing the open end of the body. During manufacture of the beverage container, a manufacturing operation known as "seaming" places the lid on a filled can body and seals its perimeter. At present, known seaming operations slide the lids horizontally across the top of the beverage containers at a vertical distance of only a few millimeters above the top edge of the beverage container. The seaming operation involves the use of very expensive high-speed machinery and tooling.
Previously, there have been attempts to provide a drinking/dispensing tube device such as a straw in beverage containers. An example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,001, issued Mar. 1, 1988, for inventor Serba. In this patent, the drinking straw floats on top of the beverage and has its ends bent at an angle to allow removal. However, a disadvantage with this patented device is that the end user must attempt to manually rotate the straw into position beneath the orifice by inserting a finger or other object through the sharp orifice into the container body interior. Once the straw has been positioned, the user must then grab the straw, pull it out through the orifice, straighten its convolutes, then reinsert the straw back into the container body.
Another example of a drinking/dispensing tube device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,817, issued Aug. 29, 1978, for inventors Payne et al. This patent discloses a straw assembly for a liquid container in which a straw has a float mounted on its bottom end to use through the orifice once the pull tab closure is removed. However, one disadvantage of this patented device is that the seaming process must be changed such that the lid orifice position is aligned with the straw. Such aligning is not current practice and may not be commercially feasible. Another disadvantage is that the device requires a style of lid which is now obsolete due to environmental and safety reasons. A lid whose tab closure is completely removed and separated from the lid by the end-user during opening of the beverage container.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a straw or drinking/dispensing tube or the like for use in beverage containers as the containers are shipped in a sealed condition from bottling or canning factories.
It is another object of the present invention to eliminate the need for end-users to manually insert drinking straws into beverage containers.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide manufacturers and consumers of existing beverage containers with a drinking/dispensing device which can be integrated with the basic beverage container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a more sanitary beverage drinking/dispensing device than is currently available under known existing beverage containers.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device which can be inserted into a beverage container for the purpose of moving a straw which is contained within the interior of the beverage container so that the straw becomes aligned with the orifice of the container lid in such a way as to render the straw accessible for upward extension and/or removal from the container through the orifice.
It is a still further object of the present invention to cause the downward vertical motion of a beverage lid's closure tab (as it is being opened) to move the straw into a position directly beneath the lid's orifice.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism which can be inserted into a beverage container for the purpose of elevating a straw so that the straw protrudes out through an orifice in the top of a beverage container.
It is a further object of the present invention to facilitate the drinking and/or dispensing of beverages by children and/or handicapped or elderly adults whose motor skills cannot attain the same level of control and precision as normal adults.
It is a still further object of the present invention to help minimize or eliminate waste spillage of the beverage which can occur as a result of sloppy drinking and/or dispensing practices or as a result of environmental difficulties such as those present during a bumpy car, plane or train ride.
It is another object of the present invention to provide in a beverage container a straw which embodies compressed circumferential folds or convoluted ridges or rings which enable the straw's length to be increased or decreased by extension or further compression of the folds or ridges, and which enable the straw to be bent at an angle without causing the kind of collapse in its wall which would obstruct the flow of the beverage through the straw.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide in a beverage container a straw which is capable of being bent at an angle or about a radius and then remain shaped and functional at that angle or radius without the aid of any external force or external molding or shaping apparatus which is additional to the initial force or apparatus required to first form the bend.